Beautiful Imperfection
by IndentityCrisis
Summary: Was called 'Not so perfect' This is what happens when the girls grow up and want kids. COMPLETE!
1. prologue

When Carmen, Tibby, Bee and Lena had been 18, they had truly believed that they would all have daughters after they finished college. They believed to the bottom of their core that nothing could brake them apart, that they would all have kids together and that it would be just like old times. A sort of Degrassi: the next generation, Pants style. When the time came, they would pass the jeans on to their daughters. (And they would _all _have daughters.) But no-one even imagined that it might work out how it did.

Tibby didn't get married. But she was the first one to get pregnant. Her parents thought she was crazy for staying unmarried. Calmly she tried to explain her reasoning to her mother.

"Brian and I don't believe in god, mom, marriage is a holy sacrament, it wouldn't be right. Anyway, I'm not really the white satin dress type girl, you know? I'd probably wear pajamas underneath the gown, and go up there with unwashed bed-head." She laughed. "Plus, we know that we don't need marriage to keep us together, it's a whole lot of paperwork even if we do it with a justice of the peace. In a way we did get married, but it wasn't traditional and it wasn't legal." Tibby gladly let the memories of that week at the beach with Brian sweep over her, that week they had become one person in two bodies. That was the week she had conceived the child she now carried under her tee shirt and cargo jeans.

Her mother didn't understand, but she knew her daughter well enough to know she did everything her own way, no matter what. It was pure will that had pushed Tibby through film school, sheer endurance that had gotten her the job as a director in the Hollywood movie, after all those years in the indie film business. Tibby now lived in L.A. But she was always traveling around to film movies. All her mother wanted to know was how Tibby was going to find time to give birth, let alone raise the child.

Bridget was already married, Eric's parents had loved her even though they hadn't really enjoyed her fathers company. Bee had run down the aisle laughing, she had gladly exchanged vows with Eric and they had moved into a beachside house in Mexico. They even traveled locally with the soccer team they coached together. A year into their marriage Bridget wrote a soccer book for the "Idiots guide to…" series. She found writing agreed with her and she continued authoring novels, not only sports, but fantasy too. When she first got pregnant, two months after Tibbys announcement, everyone was ecstatic.

Lena lived with Paul. They hadn't really talked about marriage, but Lena could tell he was frightened to have children. She could tell he was afraid what had happened to his father would happen to him. He didn't want to leave a child like his father had left him and his sister. Still, four months into Tibbys pregnancy, she asked him about marriage and kids.

"I do want to be a father," He said quietly. She waited, Lena knew him well, she also knew when not to jump in. "I'm scared Lena. But I'll try if you will." He looked her in the eyes. He had surprised her. Paul had often taken days to reveal anything he was feeling to her in words. And so they tried, they got married in front of a judge, much to Leny's family's dismay. They had been hoping for a huge Greek ceremony for her. Still, Lena decided to allow them to throw a party, to celebrate her marriage and their Greek love of food.

Paul and Lena tried to have a baby for three months before going to the doctor to see if anything was wrong. When the test came in, they were both hit with an awful shock. Lena was unable to have children.

When Carmen heard the news, she wanted to help. She was still enjoying the single life. Following in her stepfathers feet, she had become a lawyer. Although her line of work wasn't the same as his. Carmen was into family-law. She surrounded herself with work to drown out the sorrow she felt at the loss of her college boyfriend, Win. A drunk driver had killed him in her last year before she graduated. It had scared her, and she had turned her normal social energy into studying and law. Her incredible temper was at an all-time high, and it was taken out on anyone and everyone she knew. Her little brother Ryan loved her because of it though. He was a moody teenager and was in awe of her uncontrollable anger. He phoned her up at night and asked her things like, "Why does your nose run and your feet smell?" and said things like. "I am a nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore I am perfect." Carmen felt as though Ryan was the only one who didn't resent her for grieving. Still, when she heard about Lena and Paul's problem, she knew what she wanted to do. She got pregnant with Lena's baby.


	2. chapter 1

  
_Thanks for all your reviews, it made my day. Of cors I'm going to get more detailed! I'd die before I did and entire story like the prologue! ;-) _

_Sorry I had to make someone single and I thought Paul's family had already been through a lot, but Win was, exactly, a character that hadn't been used much. Anyway he'll still come into the picture a bit more later. Oh, well. Hope you enjoy!_

Chapter one 

Tibby was in her workroom, drawing a storyboard for the movie she was working on. A Tegan and Sarah C.D. blasted from her stereo. She spun around in her swivel chair when she heard Brian come into the room.

"Hey! Did you find any good ones yet?" She was talking about names for their baby. They had both agreed that Brian was the best one for the job name research. With the limited amount of free time that she had, Tibby would probably end up naming it Banana split or Action or something weird that made no sense to call a human. Brian was the assistant manager of a huge computer company, fortunately his boss had five kids and was incredibly sympathetic, he gave him a raise and all the days off he needed. Today he had only had to work in the morning, leaving him tons of time to read the baby name book.

"Yea, I'm making progress, but I want to find the perfect name before I reveal it to you." He smiled at her. Even in maternity clothes, Tibby kept her sense of style. Today she had on a pair of black overalls and her thick brown hair was in two long braids. Her converse runners matched the amethyst stud in her nose. She was pregnant as hell, due in just a month, but was hardly as moody as you would have expected. Though, it was true her films had gotten angrier in the past nine months.

"I'll let you get back to your work, Tibbs. Just wanted to come in and say hi." Brian bent down to kiss her, and as he got up,glanced at the storyboard. It was a horror movie this time.

"Isn't that kind of a creepy film to be doing when you're about to have a baby? It might give subconscious messages to it and kill us in our sleep." He teased.

"Oh but Brian! Look at all the stuff I'm learning about special effects! Here I'll show you, see you start with a simple…"Brian listened, entranced, as she taught him something he had learned in college, years ago.

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Carmen, on the other hand, wasn't fairing quite so well. Lena had temporarily moved into her apartment to help her with the pregnancy and neither of them were having fun. Lena had been cautious around her heartbroken friend lately, she was moody and picky and prone to screaming fits, which was magnified by her pregnancy.

Lena listened to Carmen talk to her little brother, Ryan, from the living room. Carmen actually sounded happy.

"Yea, exactly, so I walked right up and told the brat, this is _not_ a double double café americano, then I shoved the cup into her hands and told her to fix it, right when her manager had just showed up. When I was sitting back down I saw him talking to her about keeping orders straight." She laughed. "Really? God I wish I could have seen that!"

Normally they talked for about an hour, but today Carmen had an ultra-sound appointment and Lena didn't want to be late, Paul would be there. She hadn't seen him in days, he had stayed at their house to take care of their cat, Sealy. Living with him, she hadn't realized how much she did love him. She had sort of just taken advantage of the fact he was always there. Now that he wasn't, she missed his constant presence and comfortable silence.

Lena walked into Carmens room, only to be bombarded by her friend.

"Don't you knock? Jesus, Lena I need privacy too!"

"You have a doctors appointment, Carma, sorry." It made Lena sad to see her friend like this. She knew Carmen had been hurt, and was in mourning, but it still hurt when she treated her the same way she treated the waitress at Starbucks.

"Okay Ryan, I'll ring you tomorrow, I gotta go look at that thing growing inside me. Bye."

She got up off the couch, grabbing her coat and purse and shoving on a pair of sandals, then she followed Lena out of the house to her car. Carmen insisted on driving, as always. Lena wasn't blind to the stubbornness and bitterness that had developed in Carmen in the last three years since Win's death.

When they got to the doctors' office, they were told to sit in the waiting room until they were called. Carmen didn't even try to interact with her friend, she just grabbed a magazine and started to read about Orlando Bloom. Lena just stared into space, thinking about being a mom. Paul was setting up the lime green room in their house. It was conveniently positioned beside their bedroom. Paul was getting really into the baby gear. He was refinishing a wooden crib and did research into which diapers were better and what baby food baby's liked more.

"Carmen?" The receptionist called them.

They were ushered into a doctor's office. Carmen went to change into a gown, and Lena took a seat in the chair opposite the doctors' seat. She was excited. Today she would hear whether the child would be a girl or a boy. Tibby hadn't wanted to know about her child, but Lena couldn't wait. She also wanted to get the ultra-sound printout, for artistic reasons. She had a painting in mind and needed the image to do it.

For five minute she just waited, then Carmen came back in, carrying her clothes. Paul followed her. He took his seat beside Lena. They held hands as the doctor came in and rubbed the gel on Carmens' bloated stomach.

Carmen laughed. "It tickles."

The tension was broken and the doctor started making polite conversation until she saw what she was looking for.

"Your baby is a boy, miss, and he's growing up strong and healthy."

!$$&(&$#&&$#&$#!#$#$&)(&$#!#$TY)(&

Bridget had twins in her genetics. It had been highly likely that she would have twins. Still, when the doctor told her the news, she was surprised. The first thing on her mind was what she going to name them. She was sort of in shock. However, Eric was ecstatic.

"I've always wanted to have twins, Bee! Now the house will be full of children and you won't have to give birth again! We can name them something funny like Robin and Raven! It will be so fun! Aren't you happy?"

"Yes," His mood was catching. Still, she was troubled. Having twins reminded her of where she got her genes. Was she going to end up like her mother? She couldn't possibly leave her children the way her mother had left her and Perry. Briget decided that she needed to visit Greta.

"I'm thinking of going up to the states to visit Greta. Shed have something to say, I'm sure."

"Okay, I think I'll stay here this time to manage the store, but you can go." Recently the two had opened a consignment sporting gear store. Bridget was thinking of selling used books in it, too.

She walked out onto the porch with a glass of lemonade to watch the sunrise. The white sand was almost glowing. The clear blue waters sparkled at her as the sky turned a dusty purple-blue-pink-yellow color. She smiled, this was a beautiful place to raise her children.


	3. chapter 2

_This is happening after college! Lol. Thanks for the spelling. I'm an editing nut too but my spellchek didn't catch it and I only re-read it once before I had to go to skool. I fixed all of it, hopefully. Sorry about the "down to the states" thing. I live in Canada so I'm totally used to sayin it like that, eh? The conflict will come! Its starting to hint with the carmen/Lena section but just you wait! Muahhhahahahaha! Ok_

Chapter two

Bridget was in Alabama. She was sitting up in the attic. Greta had been happy to let her visit. When Bee had told her the news about the twins, she was so happy that she had baked a cake. However, Bridget still hadn't told her why she had come. Her suspicions and her fears that she might become like her mother had, as she was gradually becoming more and more like Marly in other ways. She had always had the hair, as was her legacy, and she had always been extremely outgoing. But recently she had started becoming closer to herself, and farther away from everybody else. She could still get up early and party around, but occasionally slept in and withdrew from the world. It was troubling her, and she couldn't sleep tonight.

Bridget got dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a tee shirt, because it was still hot at night, especially in Alabama. She tip-toed down the stairs so as not to wake Greta, and made her way out of the house and onto the dirt path. She had taken this road fourteen years ago, every day, to loose weight and gain back the person she had been before she had met Eric. Now she felt the same, although she was eating more and gaining weight for a different reason, Eric was the cause of both though. Now she started running, just like she had then. She ran to forget her worries, to exhaust herself and to loose the normal troubles of her life. She concentrated on keeping a steady pace, it wasn't as easy in her pregnant state and she was loosing her breath faster, still, it felt good. Healthy and natural. She ran through the country, passed fields of wheat and corn and pastures where cows would normally graze during the day. Bridget turned around and ran back after an hour of running/power walking. When she saw a side road that she knew would take her back to her grandmothers' house, she took it. The road was lined with old trees. She suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to climb one. She attempted to clamber up an oak, then remembered that if she fell, two other beings would get hurt too, not just her.

Walking back down the road at a leisurely pace, Bridget spotted someone in the distance. She had a feeling that she knew them, whoever they were. She ran towards them and slowed as she got nearer.

"Billy?" Bridget saw her old friends' face as he turned around to look at her.

"Umm…ya.? Wait." He paused, "Bridget Vreeland? Is that you? You look different, but the same. It is Bridget right?"

"Yes I am Bridget, Billy. And I am older, and pregnant. That's why I look different. I'm not seventeen anymore. God, I havent seen you in years!" She patted him on the back. "How is every thing? Are you married? Are you a dad?" She drilled him with a smile. It was nice to see someone that knew hardly anything about your life.

"Well, actually, I'm just getting over a sticky divorce, we were fighting over the custody of our eight-year-old daughter, Hailey. I get her during the school year and Shannon gets her during the summer. I'm happy because I will be able to help her with school and my house will basically be her home."

"And you still live here?" Bridget asked bluntly.

"No, I live in Olympia, Washington. I camedown for the summer to visit my parents. How about you?" He looked at her, studyingher features.She could tell he was making a mental note of howshe had changed.Bridget was doing the same to him. His hair had been died black and he was wearing a white tee shirt with gray Capri pants. There were new lines on his forehead and around his blue eyes, but he hadn't changed much since she had seen him last.

"I live near Mexicalli Mexico, With my husband, Eric. But I'm having doubts, about, well, everything. So I came here, to talk with Greta. I'm glad I saw you here though, maybe we could get together and play soccer, for old times sake? Do you still play?" They were both being incredibly open with each other, but why hide anything? They probably wouldn't see each other again for years. Why wait to open up? They only had the summer.

"Very exotic. What do you do there?" He ignored her soccer question.They were quickly approaching Billy's parents' house.

"I write and co-own a consignment store, but mostly we live off the royalties from my soccer guide and Eric's various financial investments he's been adding to since he was twelve. I think I'll get a better paying job though, when the twins are born."They had stopped walking. Hewas suddenly closer thanShe'd anticipated.

"Oh, that's interesting. I work as a geologist in Olympia. I own a house and have a few pretty close friends." Billy was incrediblynear to her now, Bridget could feel his breath on her face as he moved even closer to kiss her. She let him. Maybe he could help her figure out her future. Maybe an affair could help both of them sort out their feelings. They stayed together for several moments, then she broke off.

"I have to get back to Gretas' before she wakes up. See you."she whispered, then ran down the dirt road towardsher grandmothers' house. Breathing hard but not becauseshe was tired.

**sorry the dividing lines dont work no matter what I try. bare with me I'll figure something out!**

_How could it be a boy?_ Carmen was amazed. _This is wonderful! It is ruining all the plans the four ofus had for our futures! Perfect!_ They had all agreed that they would each have girls, and that they would be best friends, just like they had been before. Carmen had ruined their foursome with her rage, and she knew they resented it. Plus their constant love for her, even when she was screaming at them, was really, really annoying.Also, they had all moved to different parts of the continent. Tibby to L.A, Carmen to New York city. Lena to Rhode island, and Bee to Mexicalli.

Carmen kept thinking bitter thoughts and it helped her keep up her pace on the treadmill she was walking on in the gym. Still, there was that small part of her that still wanted to love her friends. It told her that it wasn't their fault that Win had died. It told her that it wasn't her fault either. Carmen got even angrier hearing this part of her mind. If Win couldn't enjoy his life, then Carmen wasn't going to either. At least not for a very long time. Her friends would continue to be pushed away from her, until they stopped bothering her.

Carmen caught the number seven bus to the coffee shop she liked to go to. It was called the Dancing Bean and she liked it because the servers made what she ordered without question and other people usually left her alone. Today it was almost empty, aside from a few people with their laptops at the tables by the window. She ordered a large Americano and went to sit down on a couch beside the empty fireplace. It was June so it wouldn't be lit for another few months. That was why Carmen liked it. She often stared into it when she needed inspiration about a case. She picked up her coffee to take a sip but was interrupted when a man sat down at a couch across from her.

"Hello!" He said, Carmen glared at him, "I'm Russ, what do they call you? Beauty?"

Unsettled that her glaring wasn't working, she gave him a look that she reserved only when she was mad at her mother as she said, "Most people call me pissed off, or a workaholic, or more recently, surrogate mother to my friends baby. They also call me thirty one, and you cant be any older than Twenty-six. So lay off, I'm not in the mood." Carmen knew she was being unreasonable and bitchy, but she seriously didn't need some happy young guy on her case, she just wanted to drink her coffee in peace.

"Oh come on! I'd kill myself if I didn't even get a beautiful woman like you's name! And I'm Twenty-nine, but thanks for the compliment. I try not to be superficial, plus theirs something special about you, I can tell. So what do you say?" Miraculously, he was still trying, that amused her, but it was the compliment that made her relent.

"I say that my name is Carmen and I wasn't trying to compliment you, now that I look harder you look more like fifty-four." She smiled, the ice fortress around her heart was beginning to melt a little.

"Oh well then you wouldn't mind going out with me this Friday then,as long as you feel so young?" He grinned and smoothed back his messy red hair.

"What about being pregnant makes anyone feel young? And I'm busy on Friday." She took a sip of her coffee.

"Knowing that you still look like you could be twenty? How about Saturday then?" He finished the cookie her had bought and took a swig of his mineral water.

"Shut up. I am free later on Saturday but if you bring me to a bar I'll drink and my friend wont be happy if I give her baby alcohol poisoning." Carmen laughed, thinking of Lena and Paul's reaction. Still, she didn't want to hurt the baby, it hadn't done anything wrong. She wrote her home phone number on her business card along with her address and buzzer number.

"It's a date!" He said as she handed the card to him.

"It's a movie." She told him as she got up to leave, throwing her finished coffee cup in the trash.

"See you on Tuesday, Carmen who wasn't trying to compliment me!" He held her gaze as she replied.

"I guess so, relentless and somewhat annoying Russ." She walked out of the café and caught the bus back to her apartment.

**sorry the dividing lines dont work no matter what I try. bare with me I'll figure something out!**

Tibby was on the set of her new movie, The Stalker's Mutation. For the next two weeks they were shooting in San Francisco. She hated to be away from Brian when she should have been helping him get ready for the baby, especially since she was due in two weeks, but this was the only time that they could book to film in this venue so she had to jump at the opportunity.

Walking over to set three shetalked with the actors to make sure they were ready to shoot the scene. After she had gotten their O.K., she prepared the crew and walked to her spot behind the set.

"Scene thirty-five, the rainstorm, take one. Lights ready, camera rolling, sound, and…action!"

The actors walked onstage and started the scene. The woman was screaming at the man, they were both getting drenched with the artificial rain falling on them. This was what Tibby loved, creating lives, moments, and then sharing those moments with the world. Although this was going to be a rather scary film, it was still amazing to create something that would not otherwise happen.

Five minutes into the scene, Tibby felt her water break.

"Oh shit. Cut! Stop rolling! I'm sorry everybody! I have to get to the hospital. The baby's coming early!" Tibby grabbed her cell phone and called Brian. It rang four times before his voicemail got it.

"Brian! Pick up! It's an emergency honey! The baby's coming and I'm still in San Francisco! I'll be at the general hospital, can you fly over here? Use my credit card and hurry! I have to go! Love you!" Tibby had to hang up as the contractions started. She screamed at Harold, her assistant director, for a ride to the hospital. They ran together to his car as Tibby tried phoning Brian at work. This time he picked up.

"Brian! Its time! I'm on my way to the hospital…..ohhhh……listen to your voicemail….I have to go…come here fast…."

"OK, but its too soon. Well, two weeks isn't that bad but still…. were not ready! I'll be there as soon as I can! Hang in there!" They hung up and Tibby was breathing hard. It was too soon. This birth was reminding Tibbyso much of the time Carmens mom, Christina gave birth to Ryan. Tibby had been there and vowed never to have children. Now she was reconsidering her broken vow. She was in pain, but it was natural pain, it was O.K. Tears ran down her face in effort as Harolds car sped faster down the street to the hospital.


	4. chapter 3

**Well, I _do_ know that there are premature babies but I didn't want to put Tibby through that, plus I have absolutely no idea what happens during a birth like that, so I couldn't write from experience, like seeing my sister be born. Lolzo, I luvv red hair too. The drama will keep coming.**

**As 4 the Billy or Eric thing….well…I cant give all of it away now can I? Lets just say Bee will decide.**

**Lolzo, sorry my chaps r takin so long, I want to keep my other story upd8d 2. Ill try not sleepin I hear it helps HaHa j/k, chow..read on!**

Chapter two

Carmen stood in front of the stove, stirring her macaroni. It was almost done, she figured, give it seven minutes. She was setting up the strainer in the sink as the phone rang. Carmen slowly walked over to where she had dropped the cordless the evening before, after talking with Ryan.

"What? I'm busy." She answered not really caring who it was until she heard the male voice on the other line.

"Errmm..Carmen? Hi, I'm that weird guy who asked you out yesterday at the coffee shop."

"So do I call you Russ or That Weird Guy?" She laughed, this guy was fun; easy to torment, and didn't seem to notice when you insulted him.

He laughed too. "Russ would be nice. Listen, I'd better go. I was just checking to make sure it was still on for tomorrow night?"

"I don't see why not. If anything comes up I'll tell you, now that I have your number."

"What? Did I give it too you? Not that it's a problem, but…" He sounded surprised.

"Umm… No I have call display. It's the most revolutionary thing, really, I'll tell you tomorrow, my dinner is going to get cold." She informed him sarcastically. "See ya."

"Good bye."

She hung up first. Almost as suddenly as she had pushed _off_, the phone rang again.

"What now?" She said the first thing to come out of her mouth, again not checking the call display.

"Carmen? Hi, its Brian. I'm in San Francisco at the general hospital with Tibby, she's in labor but its really difficult. She's not doing so well." Brian was speaking so quietly that Carmen had to strain to listen.

"Oh God. Do you want me to come down? Could I?" Carmen was scared now. No matter how mad she was, Carmen did not really want Tibby out of her life. Especially not by dying.

"Shit, yes please, Carmen. I know it would mean a lot to her. Could you ask Lena to come too? I know she's staying with you for a while. I'm really scared Carmen, its not looking good at all. The doctors are worried, that's a really bad sign. This baby does not want to come out and there is a risk of infection and the list goes on." The fear in Brian's voice was scaring her. Carmen needed him to stop talking.

"Brian I'll get Lena and we'll be right down. Can you give me the cross streets of the hospital?"

Brian gave her the address and hung up, saying that he had to phone Bridget in Alabama.

Carmen walked over to the stove. Her pasta had overcooked and boiled over. She threw it away and cleaned up the mess in a trance. Win had already been taken away, why were they threatening to take Tibby too? Tears ran down her face as she called Lena at the art studio she had taken a job at.

"Hello?" There were other people in the background, and it was somewhat hard to hear her.

"Lenny? Its Carmen, it's an emergency, we have to fly to San Francisco. Tibby and Brian are there, and Tibby is having the baby. Lena, she might not make it! Brians phoning Bee and we're going to fly over to her. Can you come home now?" Carmen explained the situation in a single breath.

"I'll be right over, can you take care of the plane tickets?" However sad she was, Lena was still happy that Carmen was back to normal, at least for awhile.

"Yes."

"OK, bye.

"See ya."

Carmen took care of the tickets all right, she bought expensive ones on a small, one-way plane to the opposite coast. By the time Lena had gotten home, Carmen had packed all of their bags and was jumping with impatience.

"Hurry up! We have to go! It's an emergency! Hurry Lena! C'mon! Faster!" Carmen screamed at her as she changed out of her painting clothes and grabbed a banana.

"OK I'm ready! Lets go!"

They ran to Carmens car and drove like mad to the airport where they preceded to park in a multi-day lot. Sighing, they got on their plane, Carmen said she was too stressed out to look at the landscape, so Lena took the window seat and put on her headphones.

Carmen had phoned her firm to tell them where she was going, but she hadn't told Ryan. She also hadn't told Russ that she wouldn't be able to make their date the next night. And shenever ended upremembering. She fell asleep on the long airplane ride across the country.

**If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons? **Ryan to Carmen.


	5. Chapter 4

The length of my chapters will vary a lot. The last one was short, ya. But whatever.

Sorry I'm really defensive, I take way too many things as accusations.

Unfortunate that this took so long, but I really should be studying for my finals right now, who cares? I hardly ever follow the rules. Of corse, if I fail math, its my fault. HaHa, don't worry, writing will proly give me a break. Who am I kidding? I wrote a long chapter for my other story and started and entirely new one. I havnt hit the books all day. Oh well, here it is…the new chapter.

Bridget was not at all happy about the timing. Greta had made them a fine roast beef and mashed potatoes dinner, along with an apple pie for desert. After dinner, Bridget had planned to go for a run, eventually meeting Billy near the pond. She had spent her days relaxing in the sun, shopping with Greta, gardening, playing soccer, and baking cookies and swimming. She spent her nights with Billy, doing things she would be ashamed to tell Eric, usually coming home around midnight. She was enjoying the pace. Bee had fun with Billy, it was nothing serious but it was still enjoyable. And it stopped her from feeling lonely. The shame tugged at the sides of her mind, but she ignored it. _Who was it harming? What Eric didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?_ Bridget needed a break from being faithful. Eric was only one of two guys she had slept with. All right fine, she hadn't been the most faithful person in college either. _But Malcolm Donald had been a mistake_. Fooling around with Billy was just a stress reliever, something to take her mind off her worries. At least that was what she reassured herself. She didn't know what would happen if it got serious, though_. It won't get serious; it's only a summer fling. _

Walking down the creaking stairs from her attic room, Bridget inhaled the rich scents of the feast Greta had prepared. She couldn't wait to start eating.

The phone rang in the living room. Greta had an ancient phone. It still had a cord and you had to spin a wheel to dial the numbers. Still, Bridget would have picked it up if her grandmother hadn't gotten to it first.

"Hello?" The old woman's voice cracked a little. Her age was starting to show. It was sad to think she might not always be there.

"Oh, my. Yes, all right, she's right here." She covered the receiver with her hand. "Bridget, its your friend Tibbys husband, Brian. Tibby is in labor and she's in trouble." She held out the phone to her granddaughter.

"Oh shit! It's early!" Bridget had been going to fly down to LA for the birth. She was not ready to fly down tonight. Grabbing the receiver, she talked to Brian. She told him that she would come if she could get her plane tickets transferred. If she couldn't, she told him to give Tibby all her love. Greta told her to phone the airport and that she would take care of the dinner.

"But I don't want it to get cold! I'll eat it while I'm on the phone!" She argued.

"Don't you want to see your friend in what is possibly her last hours? God Bridget! Leave the food! Exchange your ticket! Move! You don't want her to do this alone do you!" Greta's raw enthusiasm felt almost like anger. And anger was only one letter short of danger.

Retreating, she quietly agreed and phoned to exchange her tickets. She meekly switched her July ticket for one that was departing the next morning. Uncharacteristically, she softly told Greta when she was leaving. Bridget e-mailed Eric to tell him where she was going and started to pack.

The realization of Tibbys condition had finally sunken in, she was no longer hungry.

Slipping into an X-L tee shirt, Bridget turned off the attic light and slid into bed. Staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, she let her most vivid memories of Tibby wash over her. Visiting each other during their college years, getting up to trouble in LA during the summer. Seeing her after Christina had given birth, after she had accepted her feelings for Brian. Tibby at the film course, making the movie about her lost friend. During that first summer with the pants, when she had met and lost Bailey and worked at Wallmans while everyone else had left the city.

The pants. What had happened to them? Well, what hadn't happened to them? They had rotated them all through two years of college, then Carmen's roommate, Aisha, had mistaken them for useless. She had given them to charity without asking permission. The pants had gone to another thrift store, and the girls had been left hopeless and empty. They had looked everywhere, even doing a notional thrift store road trip that summer. Then they had tried to replace them, but other pants had not felt right. Neither had any hats, shirts, stuffed-animals or dirty socks (yes Carmen had even tried passing around a sock). Their sisterhood had sort of just fallen apart. Carmen had grown distant after Wins death and Tibby had been too busy to really help her mourn. Lena had been preoccupied in her own affairs, sorting out her career and Paul and Kostos and the rest of her family. Bridget had been in love. Being around Carmen had just made her feel depressed. She had stayed with Eric and avoided her friend. More guilt flooded her now. For all kinds of things. How flighty she was! She left her best fiend to her grief for a man that she was now selfishly cheating on! How could she? What kind of a monster could do that? Just take advantage of people's love! She screamed at herself inwardly and dared herself never to talk to Billy again. She could not do that though. She would say goodbye to him. She had too, she made a vow then that she would stop carelessly hurting people. She would bid farewell to Billy the next day and once again embrace Eric and her friends back into her life, that was what she would do. She would raise her children into a world were everybody loved each other, where everybody was happy. She fell asleep thinking of her bright future, never once imagining what it would be like if Tibby didn't make it through her labor. _She would survive. She had to survive_.

**-"Its ok to kiss a fool, its ok to let a fool kiss you, but never let a kiss fool you!"- **Anonymous.

Tibby went limp after a huge push. She had been struggling to bring this child into the world for hours now. She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep. She was jolted back to the situation as another contraction started.

"WHERE ARE THEY!" She screeched. "YOU PHONED THEM EIGHT HOURES AGO!" In reality it had only been four hours, but a single hour felt like a month to Tibby, it was amazing that she had hit the nail so close to the head.

"I don't know, Tib, but they'll be here soon, I promise!" Brian didn't bother correcting her. He was in quite a lot of pain as well. Tibby had a much more powerful grip on his hands then he had ever experienced in his life, not even when his father had been in one of his bad moods.

"If it doesn't come out soon, we will have to do a cesarean section, its incredibly risky, especially at this stage, but it's the only option if you don't want to die of exhaustion." The doctor wasn't kidding. It really was possible to over-exhort herself and die of lack of strength.

"Are we late for the party?" Carmen and Lena ran into the room, Carmen carried a portable CD player. Lena held a bundle of food, knowing how disgusting hospital food was from the time that she had had to have her appendix removed.

"Yes! What's with the…. Carmen?" Tibby struggled to speak as her muscles frantically pushed. She was relived that at least Carmen and Lena were there, even if Bridget wouldn't come for another five hours. This was such an awful time to be re-united with Carmen. They hadn't seen each other for almost a year.

"I have an idea, Tibberon, let's see if it helps!" Carmen quickly consulted the nurse to make sure the CD player wouldn't intervene with any equipment. Receiving the all clear, she plugged it in and a Brittany spears song came blasting from the speakers.

"What the hell are you doing, you psycho?" Tibby almost laughed at the terrible music she was being subjected to. Amazingly enough, it was helping though. She could feel her efforts working, slowly but surely, the baby was coming out.

"Nothing like a little bad music to get a kid to dance! Remember when we thought this was good?" Carmen teased her friend, happy that she was happy.

"…. Hit me baby one more time…."

Even Brian was singing by the end of the song. Tibby, for a split second, stopped feeling pain. She lay there in euphoria, feeling blanketed in love. Surrounded by people willing to sing along to bad pop music for her. Brian could feel her mood ease with the grip she had on his arm the mood was catching. The next song was by the Spice Girls and he was the first to start singing.

"This is the absolute weirdest birth I've ever been part of," The doctor commented. "And that's saying a lot, I work in San Francisco." She started to sing with them as the baby slid its slow and sticky way out of Tibby.

"I NEED FOOD! Chocolate! Water! Oranges! Steak! All of it! In a Smoothie! Now! NOW!" Tibby was so used up that she was almost at the point of using her own life force to bring the baby into the world.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. McBrian, I'm obliged to only allowed to let you eat these ice chips. I know its absurd, but you could vomit and choke on other food and die. It's happened before, and it was awful. You can eat all you want as soon as this kid is out. Come on! Just a little more! If I didn't know better, that baby really is dancing to the Backstreat Boys." The doctor winked and changed the bag feeding through the tube in Tibbys wrist.

Brian held her left hand and Lena held her right. Carmen danced around, shouting her encouragement and occasionally changing the CD. For two hours they stayed in the room, only leaving to go down the hall to the bathroom. For two hours they squeezed and screamed with Tibby as she pushed the world's most stubborn child into the world. Two hours turned into three, and just after 2:30 in the morning, Jordan McBrian, Tibby and Brian's healthy baby girl, saw the first light of day. She was brought out crying in tune to Gwen Steffani along with her mother, father and godmothers, who were bawling more than the baby herself was.

**If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? **-_From Ryan to Carmen_

Ryan sat at his computer, pissed off as usual. Tonight however, he was madder than usual. Carmen hadn't phoned, and when he had tried to call her, she hadn't picked up and her cell phone had been turned off. The thirteen-year-old brushed a hand through his blue hair. Bored, he slid his shoes on and grabbed his skateboard. Opening the door of his dark room he went out and shut it behind him, Ryan then clumped down the stairs to the living room.

"I'm going down to the 7eleven to buy a slurpy, I might stop at the park too. I'll be back later." He scowled. Ryan hated having to tell his parents his every move.

"That's fine, Honey. Did you hear about Tibby?" His mother had a worried look on her face when she mentioned Ryan's godmother.

"No, what about her?" He didn't really care, but if it had something to do with Tibby, it might have something to do with why Carmen was unreachable.

"She's in labor early and Carmen and Lena and Bridget flew out to help her through. I would go too, but the tickets are expensive plus it takes forever to get anywhere. We'll see it when it's born, maybe we could go for…."

Ryan had stopped listening when her mother had stopped taking about Carmen. He was less mad now, but still a little peeved that she had rushed to the side of this friend that she hadn't seen in almost a year and forgotten to even tell him about it. _She just forgot, I do that all the time_. He didn't want to think that Tibby might be more important to his stepsister than he was. He needed somebody to be close with, for god's sakes, since his school friends were idiots who thought he was a freak.

He didn't make friends well. It had always been a problem with him. In pre-school even, he had stayed away from the other children and played by himself. In kindergarten he had made a couple of friends, but they never stuck. All through his school life he had the same experience. Making friends and then loosing them. Finding friendship and then breaking it. Currently he was a friend with a boy named Cristo, who didn't say much but observed a lot. Cristo was going into in grade 10, a year older than Ryan should have been in if he hadn't been bumped up a grade. So there was another thing, he was the only thirteen-year-old (soon to be fourteen) in the tenth grade. He was also the only person in suburbia with blue hair.

Skating down the street after going to 7eleven, he purposely took a road that led him past the park. He didn't go to Mercy Park to sit and watch the sunset though, he went to run into Phia Wright. She was probably the only girl worthy of any attention aside from Carmen. She was oblivious to fashion, pulling on old, thrift store jeans and a comfy cotton shirt, tying her black hair into a bun everyday and ignoring everyone at lunch. She paid attention during class though, and got good enough grades. Phia sat in a special tree and read at lunch each day. Ryan had noticed her there a few months ago. Having nothing better to do, he had started checking on her every lunch, to see if she was still there, if she stayed in the same tree. She did. Then, as he was skating around one night, he noticed her writing under a tree in Mercy Park. The next night he had brought a book to the park and sat down reading not twenty-five meters away from her on the grass near the pond. Tonight he held two slupies in his hands, keeping his board under his arm awkwardly as he made his way across the clearing to the girl.

"Hi, Phia." She looked up at him, he hazel eyes questioning his own azure colored ones.

"Ryan?" She sounded surprised. He then remembered that it was July. School had gotten a month ago.

"Umm…Hi. Do you want a slurpie?" He felt really stupid. What the hell was he doing here? This was Phias space, he hardly even spoke to her when school had been in session, even though they had been in three classes with together.

To his joy, relief spread across her face. "Oh my god, I was so thirsty! Thanks Ryan! Sit down!" He handed her the slurpie with the un-chewed straw. Sitting down, he watched her throat moved as she drank the cool drink that he had brought her. He took at gulp of his own._ This isn't so hard!_ He smiled as she stopped drinking and asked him how his summer was going.

"Its unbelievably boring, how about you?"

"Wow, that about sums mine up too. There is nothing to do! I want to get out of this dinky town and go somewhere! Its so revolutionarily boring!" She spoke his feelings exactly. He told her this and they laughed. As they continued talking, it got later outside. 9:30 turned to 10:00 and the sun went down entirely.

"Oh crap. I'd better get home. My parents are going to kill me." Ryan got up to go.

"OK. Are you busy tomorrow?" Phia got up to leave too.

"Not at all, why?" He hoped that she was going to say what he wanted her to say.

"Me neither, do you want to hang out?" She ginned as he accepted. They both walked out of the park together and he walked her home. Jumping on his board, he rode quickly home.

As he walked up the stairs to his house, his mom opened the front door for him.

"Ryan, where the hell have you been? Its 10:30 at night!" She was in her pajamas but didn't look tired.

"I was with a friend at the park, mom. I'm sorry, we lost track of time." His mother seemed to brighten up when she heard he had a friend.

"Really? Who?" It was not suspicion that drove her to ask this question, but curiosity. Who was he having a good enough time with that he had forgotten to come home?

"Just a girl from my homeroom named Ophelia Wright." He hoped she would let it go at that, he didn't want to have to explain Phia to his mom.

"You have a girlfriend? That's great! When can I meet her?" Christina's excitement made him smile. Maybe this would be easier than he had expected.

**Borrow money from pessimists - they don't expect it back. **–Carmen to Ryan.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Ok I guess its seriously time for a disclaimer.**_

Disclaimer: YaYaYa….You know the drill. I own nothing but life, the universe and everything. My brain belongs to Acme and my soul is the property of those barbies at Toys R us. My body is with the Ewoks since they captured me last month. My name is property of my school and my life belongs to my parents, along with any free time I may have. This story is Anne. B's. My money is in the bank, with my slippers. Don't ask how the bank got my slippers, when I did, they gave me to the Ewoks. Ok wait…ahhhh! Im being shoved aside!

**Russ- Hey I'm your creation!**

**Lady at the Auberge- Moi aussi!**

**Taxi driver- Oui!**

**Phia- Ya, jeeze. Im original! **

**Flight attendant- Oh My God! You forgot me? How could you? I'm like, the main character!**

**Me- OK, peoples. Hold it. Half of you haven't even come into the story yet!**

**Flight attendant- Well then start the chapter! I can't wait any more! You are useless! I'm going to go curl my hair!**

**Me- okkkkk. Sure. But she has a point. Here it is….**

**Chapter five!**

_**To the optimist, the glass is half full. **_

_**To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. **_

_**To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. **_

_**To the plumber, any liquid in the glass is potential--**John Pettitt and Ed O'Connell_

"We are now arriving in Quebec. Please fasten your seat belts and close all trays. An attendant will come around to collect any garbage you need to dispose of. Nous arrivons en Quebec. Mis vos sintures sil vous plait et ferme tous tes…." Bridget stopped listening. _Wait…why are they speaking French?_ _I flew straight from Alabama to San Francisco! They don't speak French in San Francisco, do they? Oh, no. Did that lady on the inter-com say we're in Quebec? What's going on? _

"Excuse me," She spoke to the flight attendant who was coming to take her garbage. "Where are we exactly?" Bridget handed her a granola bar wrapper.

"Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Can I take that soda can for you?" Passing the empty Sprite can, Bridget had a feeling of dread wash over her.

"Ummm…I was told I would be going to San Francisco. Is this a detour? I thought it was one-way." She stuffed the remaining mars-bar wrapper, Saran wrap and sandwich crusts frantically into the garbage trolley. Stupid trolley. Why did airplanes always have to be so…organized? _I would go insane if I worked here. Everything is so perfect. It must be hard keeping it that way. _

"Perhaps you bought the wrong ticket, would you care to let me see it?" The flight attendant reached out her hand to take the ticket. Carmen handed it over, feeling as though it was yet another piece of garbage.

"Well, I did have to transfer my later ticket because it was an emergency. But on the phone I definitely said that I wanted to go to San Francisco." Now how was she going to get to Tibby on time? Maybe the baby was already born. If that was the case, did they really need her? But what if Tibby was dead? _Oh my god I need to phone the hospital! _

" Yes, miss, your ticket says Quebec here. Perhaps in your hurry you forgot to examine it closely?" The skinny blond said with more than a little criticism.

"Oh well, your absolutely no help at all!" Bridget fired back. "I understand I have the wrong ticket, now could you please find me a directory with all the accommodations in Quebec City?" Flipping open her cell phone, Bridget turned away from the flight attendant. The woman curtly sniffed, then finished her rounds with the trolley and went in search of a brochure.

Dialing Brian's cell-phone number, she waited as the phone rang three times.

"Hello?" She sighed in relief as Brian McBrian answered the phone.

"Brian, thank God. Is everything all right?"

"Yea! The baby is here and Tibby is fine, if not a little worse for wear." She could hear the joy in his voice as he explained to her that they would stay in the hospital for a few more days to monitor the health of the child. Then they would be going home, to Los Angeles.

"Oh that's wonderful! And I love the name you picked! Jordan is such a kick-ass girls name!" As Bridget told him what had happened with the airplane tickets, she smiled to relive built-up stress. _Tibby is safe! The baby's healthy!_ Quickly the phone was transferred from Brian to his wife.

"Bridget! Wow! Did you ever miss an awesome birth! I'll tell you all about it when you get to LA next week!"

"Next week? I was going to go right over to San Francisco."

"But then you would have to buy another plane ticket as well as the greyhound to L.A.! Stay in Quebec for a week! Enjoy yourself! Maybe you will find inspiration to write another book." Tibby was being very persuasive.

"I guess I could do that. I'll e-mail Eric on my laptop and tell him where I am. I should go home soon, though. I'm due in a month and a half! Two kids, Tibbster! Twins! Can you believe it?"

They exclaimed over their futures and Tibby described her baby to her best friend. Finally the plane landed and Bridget had to say goodbye."

"OK Bee, see you in seven days, We'll be at the loft, you know the address." Bridget turned her cell-phone off. Unbuckling her seat belt, she re-packed her carry-on sack and made her way through the procession. Walking through an automatic door, she walked into the luggage-collection room of the small airport. As she waited for her suitcase to be unloaded from the plane, Bridget had a talk with customer-service. They apologized and gave her a ticket to LA departing in a week after making a few phone calls.

Grabbing her luggage off the revolving spinner, she called a taxi after looking the number up in a phone book. Bridget asked the driver in broken high school French to bring her to the Le Chevalier bed and breakfast that she had seen in the directory on the airplane. The car pulled up after half an hour to a large, old-stone house. The sign at the front indicated that it was Le Chevalier.

"Quarent-sept dolaires, sil vous plait." The driver smiled and wrote the price down on a piece of paper. $47. Ouch. Paying the man in American dollars, she got out of the car and walked up the stone pathway to the house. A screen door with another sign on it directed visitors to do something, but she didn't know what. It was in French. _Oh man! Tibby wasn't thinking straight! How am I supposed to get by in a francophone city when all I speak is English?_ Thankfully, at that moment an old woman came to the door.

"As tu besoin d'aide?" She smiled at Bridget and gestured for her to come inside.

"Je veux dormir dans la salle de bain avec un pantoufle rempli de nuriture?" Bridget tried to explain that she needed a room and breakfast. She had a bad feeling in her gut when the woman laughed.

"You want to sleep in the bathroom with a slipper filled with food? My dear, do you need a place to stay?" The woman did not mean to be cruel. Bridget laughed with her at the ridiculous sentence she had constructed.

"Yes, my airplane ticket was switched and instead of going to San Francisco, I ended up here. The next flight I can catch is next week. Do you have any vacancies? I would really appreciate it, since I just spent fifty bucks on the taxi." She smiled pleadingly and shifted her backpack to her left shoulder.

The woman sighed, then cursed in French. "Tabernac. No my dear, I do not have any vacancies," Bridgets' heart sank. "But I will let you sleep on my couch free of charge until Mr. Bandeau checks out tomorrow morning. How does that sound?" Her face crinkled in a smile.

"Oh thank you! You are so kind! I have to pay you, though! I can't take advantage of your hospitality!" She was not allowed to pay, the woman said. They were not giving her a bed, therefor it was not necessary to compensate. She led Bridget to the living room, gestured towards a large, orange couch. It looked more comfortable than her bed at home.

"You can put your belongings in this closet, here. Tonight, you eat with us! I am so sorry that _l'auberge_ has no vacancies. But you will still be treated as though you are a guest."

"But even if I was a guest here, I would only be given breakfast, not dinner. Please, at least let me go to a restaurant tonight. I want to intrude into your family the least possible." Bridget really didn't want to have dinner with this wonderful family. She wanted to have dinner with Eric. At least she could eat alone tonight. Maybe she could IM him in an Internet café.

"Oh well, _mon cherie_, you can do as you like. Come in before ten because that is when I lock the door, _dacord_?" And with that, The elderly Quebecoise lady left the parlor.

Bridget stood there for a moment, then put her suitcase into the closet. Taking out her laptop and her purse, she left the B+B, walking down the ancient street into Quebec. She giggled in amazement. It was all so beautiful! So old! Walking past a vast green field, Bridget decided to go for a walk in the park. She could see the spires of the Quebecois parliament over the roofs of the ancient houses. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"_Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."--W.C. Fields._



_**Suburbia - where they cut down trees and name streets after them**—Common knowledge_

Ryan was getting so mad. He was getting seriously peeved. She was totally starting to piss him off. Don't worry, it wasn't Phia. It was Christina, his mom.

"Invite her over to dinner, OK? I want to meet her! What's her name again?" Bugged eyed, she drilled him with question after question. Demand after demand. _Maybe I should have had a few more friends. Close friends, like Carmen does. Maybe then mom would let up._

"For the last time, mum! We are not going out! Jesus! Give me a break! You keep hounding me to make friends, but when I do, you won't leave me alone!" Finally, the explosion building up inside him had erupted.

"You won't tell me anything. I want to share your life with you; you're my son! Can I help it that I'm excited?" She stood right in front of him, forcing Ryan to answer.

"Just…. give…me….time." He forced the words out through clenched teeth. Get your own life! He felt like screaming.

Christina looked stricken, but as though she understood.

"I'm going to go out now, OK? I'll be back later." Ryan could see his mom trying not to ask whether he was going to meet Phia. He was, but he didn't want to give her that much information. Ryan left before his mom could change her mind.

Jumping on his skateboard, he passed the park and turned onto Pine Street. There was a little ice cream parlor called Cool Scoops that the two of them had agreed to meet at.

He sat at a table in the far corner, telling the waiter that he would order in a little while. Phia came five minutes later. Amazingly, she wore her black hair down that day with two little braids at the front; she usually tied it up. It went down past her shoulder blades, camouflaging into the black and red tee shirt she wore. Her jeans were ripped on one knee and there was writing all over them. There was even a little embroidery decorating the faded denim. She looked really hot and Ryan wasn't one to hide the truth.

"Hey, you're looking really sweet. Nice jeans by the way, where'd ya get them?" Ryan had gelled his hair a little today, making the blue almost glow under the summer sun. He was wearing red cotton cargo-pants and a purple tee.

"The second-hand place on Ash Street. It's got the funkiest things. Thanks for the compliment, by the way. Your not too shabby yourself, I particularly like that shirt." She indicated his mauve statement.

To that he simply smiled, then the waiter came back to see if they were ready to order.

"I'll have a coke float please." Phia ordered first.

"Err… A banana split please." Ryan looked at Ophelia, she looked back at her.

"So what do you think of guys in general?" He asked her a blunt question. If she was anything like him, and he guessed she was, she wouldn't mind answering it.

"Well, I find some guys are like lava lamps, fun to look at but not too bright. Some are like pennies, two-faced and worthless. Sorry I'm a bit harsh. But some are honest, smart, and fun. Some have integrity and honor. Guys like that don't have to be compared to anything, you can just spot them. Can you guess which group you're in?" She smiled, it light up her face. A waiter whooshed passed, creating a wind that stirred her smooth hair.

"The third one?" Ryan cautiously asked.

"No! The first one you dork! Just kidding, the third one yes, but also a little of the first one. Your fun to look at."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" He laughed, revealing a healthy set of teeth, even if the canine ones were a little sharper than average.

"Compliment, I'm not really that cruel, am I?" She didn't wait for a reply. "Anyway, what do you think of our whole conforming school? Girls wearing pink, boy wearing blue?"

The ice cream came and they continued talking. They talked about opinions, politics, religion, clothes and almost everything in between. Finally they came to the only subject left. Them.

"My mom won't leave me alone! She thinks we're going out already! Not that I don't like the idea." He assured her. "It's just I don't like having to correct her. So, what do you think?"

"Do you want to go out, you mean?"

"Sure, sounds fun. Pick me up around seven?" He teased her and they laughed.

"Shut up! Yea sure, you're on. Considering you're the only person I would even consider going out with in this town, Ryan. Everyone else is so normal."

"Cool. Wanna get out of here then?" He asked his new girlfriend. _That sounds nice. Phia, my girlfriend. Although I hate the whole possessive thing. Calling her 'my' sounds so awful. Mom will be happy though._ She said sure and Ryan picked up the tab. Walking down Oak Street, He took a chance and held her hand. (a/n ok fine, its fluffy, but fluff is comfy! I like fluff!) She looked at him sidelong, but didn't pull away. They walked down the street into the July sun. An odd pair. A black-haired thrift-store punk with a blue-haired, purple-shirted skater-boy walking down the bare suburban street together.

_**Happiness is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth**.--A happy person_



**"Don't spend your life as a pretty bitch... God will send you back nice and ugly!" **

_--Fritz_

Carmen was sitting on her bed in her hotel room. Lena was at a restaurant with some friends she had met up with. She felt terrible. Poor Russ, he had phoned her three times. Her cell phone had been turned off and she had completely forgotten about him. Now it was Sunday. How long had he waited for her last night? She had stood him up unintentionally! Then there was Ryan! He had phoned eight times and left four messages. How could she just ditch her old life when something new came up? Immediately she phoned Russ to apologize.

"Hullo?" It was he. (a/n old English, I know, but I feel weird today)

"Russ? Hi its Carmen." There was silence on the other line.

"Finally he spoke. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry." Then she explained what had happened with Tibby. She really put her heart into it, Russ was cool, and she wanted to get to know him.

"OK. Maybe I'm an idiot but I buy it. When are you coming home?" He didn't sound mad. Russ was such an awesome guy. He had been stood up and he was still willing to schedule a follow-up date.

"As soon as my friend gets out of the hospital, which is in one week."

"All right, so next Monday, are you free for lunch?"

"Yes. But I'll be at my firm, which is in Manhattan, and I don't have a car."

"Kay, I'll pick you up at 12:00. Do you know the address?"

"Thank you! It's 26694 Shield Boulevard. Tell the receptionist my name and I'll make sure she sends you up."

"OK, see you on Monday."

"See ya."

They hung up and Carmen flopped onto her bed, exhaling a breath that she had been holding.

Dialing Ryan's number on her cell, an automated voice came on and told her that she would have to pay an extra charge if she wanted to call Maryland. Sighing, she used the hotel phone, putting it on her bill.

The phone rang five times, then she got the answering machine. She pressed two to leave a message for Ryan.

"Hey bro, its Carmen. Tibby had her baby so I flew over to help her. I'll be back next Sunday, sorry for not telling you sooner. Love ya." The message beeped. She hung up the phone.

Bored, Carmen tried watching TV. She sat on her bed watching Wheel Of Fortune, waiting until Lena came home. Feeling unproductive, she took a shower. _Maybe I should leave before Sunday, am I helping anyone sitting in a hotel room? Well, maybe the hotel accountant thinks so but… _She finished her shower and called her law firm for no reason. Nothing had happened. They didn't need her for another week. Feeling utterly alone, Carmen went to bed.

_**"I was playing poker the other night... with Tarot cards. I got a full house and 4 people died." --**Steven Wright_



**OK sorry Carmens part was so short but I really wanted to post this chapter fast. I won't be able to update for at least a week. I hope this'll tide you over.**

**Noooo! the pull was too strong, I have to answer my wonderful reviewers.**

**Bellamegs—Yup, but it's a healthy baby so not for too long. Lol**

**Katmiester—Yes but shes doing it because she loves him and wants him to have a baby. Not in a weird way, and at least they arnt genetically related, cuz the baby might come out mutated**.

**Elephantsrocmysox—I'm trying, and thank you.**

**MIDNIGHT-PIXIE—I love your name. Thanks the quotes make my laugh too so that's why I put them here. Lol. Thanx.**

**LiTTleLoTTe1991—YaY than you! Well, I've seen sum pretty stinkin short chapters, so mine arnt that bad, even the short ones. But still, I like them longer, its funner!**

**Riza-4789—Yay that means its long enough to count as a story instead of a beginning of a story. Don't worry, I'll finish it!**

**Crystal—Well I cant wait to write the rest. I just wish my fingers could type as fast as my brain can think!**

**Not Just A Princess At Heart—Lolz, thanx. I love writing about Ryan cuz he is the only character in the story thats close to my age! It's easier to write about him, in other words. Maybe Ill do an entire ficcy on him sum day!**

**xsummerbabyx—Thanks, I love him too (read the review above this one). No problem I hope you had fun! Where did you go? (u can tell im kinda bored right now, lol) I won't stop until is done! Hey if u have time… could you review my other story plz? Ur a loyal reviewer of this one and NOBODY is reading the other one. Just a thought, no worries if u don't want too. Lol**

**pheonixgirl09—WoW, thank you! That's such a compliment! Especially since I'm an aspiring author so you're really nice! If you ever write anything just tell me and ill read it! Lol. Im trying. **


	7. Chapter 6

**This is a really sorry excuse for a chapter. I have major writers block. Thank you for all your reviews, they were the only thing that got me to write this. xsummerbabyx, you read the right story, thank you. Ok… I guess you can read this chapter but its bad. I only put one quote because I feel depressed (and I am too lazy to find more quotes). Ok ciao,**

**I.D.c **

* * *

**Why is something you transport by ship called cargo but when you take it by car its called shipment?-_A weird voice on the radio_**

A phone was ringing. It was three A.M., Carmen was in her hotel bed. Lena was sleeping in the one beside her. Carmen stared at the ceiling, counting the tiles. On the fourth ring she realized that it was her cell phone. Groaning, she got up.

"What?" She moaned. "I was asleep." She hadn't been, but whatever.

"Carmen?" The voice of her assistant was on the other line. "It's the Procter case. The wife was murdered. We need you over here, immediately." Carmen rolled her eyes.

"Now pull my other leg, Jane. We're into family law, remember? No murders here. Why did you really call?"

She could almost hear Jane flinch on the other end. Carmen's temper was infamous.

"It's true though. Mrs. Procter was murdered. We suspect it has something to do with…" She explained the situation. Carmen was confused now. The Procter case had been about to be closed. Everyone had been happy. The mom got the teenage girl and the dad got the toddler boy. Mrs. Procter had been more than willing to give her son, Mortimer to her ex-husband, and Mr. Procter had not shown much interest in their daughter, Lilya. It had been an easy case. Done smoothly and quickly. What was this about a murder? _Oh man…And I thought my week was going to be boring_. Carmen decided right then and there to leave San Francisco in the mourning, her firm obviously needed her. She could visit Tibby in a few months, once things settled down.

"Jane, wouldn't the case be given to the crime department? It should be out of our hands by now." She wanted to go back to bed.

"But the papers hadn't been signed and our case is still open so the courts gave it to us to work out. We have a few investigators in here from the C.dep. but its up to us to close the Procter case."

"Ok, Ok! I'll fly over tomorrow! Now, please, can I get back to sleep?" Jane yielded to her boss's begging.

Rubbing her temples, Carmen flopped back into bed. What a packed summer! Within five minutes she was immersed in sleep. Dreaming about children murdering their parents.

* * *

It was dawn in Quebec. Bridget was awake and dressed in five minutes. She wanted to make the most of her time before she had to go home. Quebec was so beautiful! A knock on her door made her jump. Well, it was the door of the den, but nobody had come in since she had put her bags in the closet.

"Come in!" She ran over and opened the door.

"Bonjour, mon cherie! Would you like to have some breakfast?" It was the old woman, she carried a tray laden with food.

"Oh, thank you! Please, can I help?" The woman just smiled. Placing the tray on the coffee table, she explained that she would have a vacancy at five-thirty that evening. They talked while Bridget ate the toast and pancakes. Finishing the orange juice, she informed her hostess.

"I'm going to go out now, OK? I'll be back by five-thirty, I promise."

"All right, mon cherie. Just come back on time otherwise I might have to give the room to someone else. I don't want to, but it's the regulation here. Goodbye!" She left the room. Bridget was hot on her tail. After grabbing a hat and her purse, she jogged down the cobbled road to the riverbank. It was about a half-hour run, but it was worth it. The water ran gray and steady between the mainland and the island. Wind blew blond strands out of her face and was cooling after the exercise. Leaning over the railing, Bridget didn't realize that her purse was open. Her heart sank as she watched her cell-phone spiral down the cliff, landing with a splash into the current.

"Crap!" She swore. It had been a nice model. Bridget walked over to a café and ordered a carrot muffin and a raspberry-lemonade Jones soda. She slathered the muffin with cream cheese and then sprinkled paprika over it. She sat down at an outdoor table, it had an empty candle holder sitting in the umbrella hole. She looked down at her swollen stomach. _I hope I don't drop one of my children in the St-Laurence, like I did my phone!_ She double-checked to make sure her purse was closed and ate her muffin. A couple walked by, holding hands. They sat down at a bench and made out. Nobody seemed to notice. Bridget was the only one staring. She quickly averted her eyes. They landed on a beautiful green hotel. It was ancient, magnificent and huge. She asked the waiter what it was called and he told her.

"It is Le Chateau Frontenac, madamoiselle." She was surprised that so many people spoke English in Quebec, but figured that it was a tourist town, so it was either be bilingual or loose business.

Her eyes went back to the redhead and the blond making out on the bench. It made her homesick beyond words. She saw their love and longed for Eric. Walking slowly around the city, silent tears started coursing their way down her cheeks. Bridget walked into a grassy park and sat down in a hedge. Only her head stuck out over the bush. Picking a flower, she instinctively put it in her mouth. _Great, I'm eating the shrubbery! This is the path to madness, to be sure. I've heard of weird cravings, but the plants!_ To her surprise, the flower tasted sweet. She wondered what it was as she stared at some starlings pecking at bird feed.

* * *

"No, Harold. I want him to swagger over. Crawling is not scary anymore. Confidence is where the fear lays. Marianne has to scream when she's under water, the bubbles coming out and the blood gushing from her wounds will make an awesome effect. Yes of course I want the family to act terrified. The little girl should be wailing. Oh, I wish I could just show you!" Tibby ran a hand through her hair. It was not easy trying to train an AD long-distance.

"God, Harold. Just use your judgment. I have to go." She hung up. "Can I see my daughter please?" She was bored out of her mind. The puck-green and beige on the walls was making her feel sick. When will Friday come? How could it only be Tuesday?

"Here you go Mz. McBrian. She is beautiful." The nurse handed Tibby her baby and left, drawing the curtains around the bed.

"Hewo bwaby Jordan! Awre dows nawsty howsptal pewople gwiving youw a hawrd twime? Wiwl they nawt leave youw in pweace? Are you bowred out of youwre mind twoo?" Tibby cooed incessant ramblings at the oblivious, sleeping Jordan.

After awhile the doctor came to take the child for some tests. Tibby decided to call Bridget in Quebec to see how she was doing. The operator came on and told her that the number she had speed-dailed was out-of-service.

"Please try your number again, or hang up." She was told curtly, the dial tone cutting into her brain.

"Weird." She rubbed a hand over her face. Leaning back, Tibby felt into a dreamless sleep.

Lena was having lunch with her old friends again. Trey and Casey had been her classmates at college. They had hooked up and, apparently, moved to San Francisco.

"I saw Drake the other day," The three of them were sitting in a small vegan restaurant. It was a huge change for Lena, who was to use to huge Greek feasts.

"Really?" Lena said, not remembering who Drake was.

"Yea, the professor got a big contract with Coca-Cola and he's, like, a millionaire now." Trey informed her. His greasy black hair fell in front of his face.

"Weird. I always remember Mr. McGuire as a funky poor guy. He had that brown coat and the Doc Martens. What does he look like now?" Now Lena remembered Drake McGuire. He had been her animation professor.

Casey cut in, she was better at descriptions. "He had on a red cotton button-down with levi jeans. His Doc's were still there but they were way new and shiny. He had lost the brown coat for a gortex rain jacket. His ponytail had been cut like Carson's from 'Queer eye for the straight guy!' It was so weird. He was presentable_. Mr. McGuire_ was presentable, Lena! He used to be, like, the dirtiest teacher in the college." They all laughed before the waiter came to take their orders. Lena got a tofu and bean Taco. It was the only thing that didn't sound like salad on the menu. Her cell-phone rang.

"Oh my God! Lena's gone over to the dark side!" Trey commented when she pulled it out of her purse.

"Haha, very funny. My best friend is being surrogate mother to my child, do you think I'd leave her without communication?" She pushed 'On'. "Hello? Oh Hi Tibby. No, I haven't, do you want me too? Ya I have the long-distance plan. Ya. OK. Sure, see you later." She excused her self and dialed Bridgets number. It was out of service. Weird. Her phone rang again.

"Hello?" It was her mother. "No, mom, I don't know where dads tools are, can I call you back? I'm in a restaurant. Thanks. Ya, I love you too. Ok, bye." She hung up as her Taco was delivered.

(a/n I can hear you all screaming POINTLESS! And I'm sorry, but I hadn't updated in so long, I really just wanted to write)

* * *

Ryan was sitting at a gaming café with Cristo. They were playing _Defense combat_ and he was winning. His team had forty-seven people versus the thirty-two of his friend. Never the less, they fought ferociously until the last second of their time disappeared. Laughing, they walked outside and went to 7eleven to buy slurpies.

"Hey man, isn't that your girlfriend?" Cristo indicated the frozen foods section.

"Yes Cris, I'm going out with the perogies." Ryan looked over the shelves and saw Phia.

He walked up behind her, putting his hands over her eyes he whispered. "Guess who."

"Ryan!" She whispered back, turning around. They embraced and Ryan looked into her basket.

"Beef patties? I thought you were a vegetarian." Beside the beef patties were a box of fish-stix and a wrapped package of salami.

"I am. No fish or anything. My brother, on the other hand, is a carnivore. My parents eat meat, but this was a special trip to 7eleven just for _his_ meat. It's so gross." She looked over at the chocolate-bar section, a sixteen-ish boy with a buzz-cut was standing there, contemplating the selection.

"Oh well, each to their own, I guess"

"Yea, but Maxwell is really dumb." She smiled in a sly manner. "Unlike you." She laughed.

"Thanks, but coming from Miss Top-of-the-class, it's more of an insult." He grinned.

"Sure, whatever." She stuck out her tongue. When she stuck it back in, Ryan took the opportunity to kiss her. It lasted for a few seconds, then Maxwell came over and pulled his sister away.

"Dude, that's so gross. PDA in the _7eleven_ with _my sister_."

"I didn't think so." Ryan and Phia said in unison.

"Whatever, did you get the food? Good, lets go." He started walking towards the checkout, a Mars bar in his hand.

"See ya around, Blue." She winked at him and followed her brother.

"Are you going to leave, or just stand there all day?" Cristo was leaning against the ice-cream freezer, a bored-out-of-his-mind expression was etched on his face.

"Ok, Ok!" Ryan got himself a slurpie and they left.

* * *

It was a rainy evening in Mexico. Eric was driving home from a long day at the store. He was exhausted. ( a/n can you see where this is going? Do I have to go on? Sob) Three deliveries and two pick-ups, not to mention a boring encounter with old Mrs. Santoz were making him careless. He turned a bend and sped up, he was almost home. Eric didn't see the last turn in the highway, and forgot to slow down for it. He plummeted off the road, down the incline, and into the ocean. He was given a concussion but still had enough strength to pull himself out of the car and onto the shore. He had inhaled a lot of water, however and even as he passed out, Eric's body was heaving with the effort to empty his lungs. The rain pounded down on his unconscious body all night, until Maria Hernandez walked along the beach with her dog at dawn.

* * *

OH MY FRIGIN GAWD! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO WRITE! PLEASE REVIEW ME WITH IDEAS FOR THIS STORY! I AM SORRY ABOUT ERIC BUT I SERIOUSLY NEEDED A TWIST! I AM IN AN AWFULLLLL WRITERS BLOCK FOR THIS STORY! YOU ARE LUCKY THAT YOU EVEN GOT THIS GAWD-AWFUL CHAPTER! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 


	8. Chapter 7

**Ok, YES IT'S THE SECOND-TO-LAST CHAPTER! WOOT! Very kool, it will be my first completed fic (unless I finish one before I do this one. But that depends on you guys reviewing.) Hey, sory about not updating for so long but … IT'S WAY TOO FRIGIN HOT TO WRITE! DID YOU NOTICE? Ok, I'm hyper. Yep.per peppers. Kk. **

**Riza—4789 : Thank you. I wanted to add a little more spice. And action. Yea.**

**Bellamegs : That sux, I don't wish writers block on anyone. I just lost the spirit of the story, that's all. I think I'm almost better now, though. I'm happy about it almost being done! I don't think I will do any other birth scenes, just a little summary at the end or sumthin, but thanks for the suggestion!**

**Beck/ Becky/ Becky-Last time I swear: Thanks a lot! It means tons to me! I was going to kill him off but then it would not make Bee very happy so I decided to keep him. Even if I don't like him. I don't know why I forgot about the mothers but now I think it would just make it more complicated, thanks for the suggestion though!**

**Elephantsrocmysox: Thanks. I h8 him too, but … yea. I just got bored and now I have to do damage control. Bee would get mad if Eric died. I'm glad some1 liked the chapter.**

**Coolmarauders: Hehe. I have no comment. Thank you for reviewing, I love it! Umm … yes phia has the pants and unfortunately Eric will not die. My quotes are very hard to find, but I do it anyway. Thanks for the compliment of them. They could adopt, but what would happen to the kid carmen is carrying?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the girls but I DO OWN THE QUOTES! MINE! GIMME! And please take no notice of the last quote, I am hyper and could think of nothing better. Hehe. Ok, **

**Read and write on!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

**Cancel my subscription cause I don't need your issues**—_Carmen, to the poor girl at Starbucks_

Eric was in the intensive care wing of the hospital. He would live, but was in a coma. At that moment, the staff was trying to figure out how to reach his family. They had searched his pockets for ID and had found his drivers license, library card, birth certificate and a soccer club membership. It should have been more than enough, and it was, however, when they had phoned his home number, the recording said that his wife was traveling. They phoned his parents and got the same answer.

"Perhaps he has siblings? Or we could contact that soccer club? Perhaps his wife has a cell-phone?" A nurse was quick to aid the secretary in his attempts. Indeed, when they phoned Eric's brother Craig, he gave them Bridget's cell number and told them he would notify the rest of the family.

"Again!" The secretary swore when he tried to phone the cell number.

"What?" The helpful nurse was quick to his side.

"The number is out-of-service! This is impossible! Some people just shouldn't have accidents! Its too hard to tell their loved ones!" They laughed.

"But she can't love him very much if she's this unreachable. Maybe she left him and he drove off that cliff in a suicide attempt, then chickened out at the last second and swam to the surface." They contemplated theories for a while until Craig came into the building with his parents.

"Did you reach Bridget?" The gray-haired mother asked.

"No, her number has been disconnected, mam." The nurse slunk away and left the secretary to fend for himself.

"Well, keep trying. Now, where is my son!" She demanded, then charged into the emergency room.

Try as she might, Erics mother could not wake him up. Finally, she sat in a chair beside Craig and her husband, crying.

* * *

**If the sky is the limit, then what is space, over the limit?**—_The Quote Syte. _

Ryan and Phia lounged on a park bench, the wisps from a weeping willow tickling their cheeks. They laughed, kissed, talked, kissed. Overall they had a good time. Suddenly, Ryan got an idea.

"Phia, how would you like to live in Manhattan for a couple of weeks?" He imagined it. Spending time in New York with his two favorite girls; Carmen and Phia.

"What? I mean, that would be great, but we can't just get up and go. My parents would kill me!" She laughed. He explained to her his idea and her face lit up.

"Oh Ryan! That would be wonderful!" She hugged him.

"Yea, it would. I just have to convince Carmen to let us. And our parents of course." He looked thoughtful.

"That's fine. My parents are not usually too strict. Plus they are taking brother to Dallas on his wrestling tour." They plotted the whole thing, then parted ways to tackle their parents.

When Ryan got home, his father was in the shower and his mom was sitting in the den, reading a book.

"Hey, mom." He sat down beside her. His blue jeans contrasting against the burgundy couch.

"Hey, honey. Did you have fun with Phia?" She placed her book closed on her lap and listened to his proposal.

"You know, I think that's the smartest idea I've heard all day." She told her son about the two telle-marketers that had called.

"So we can do it?" He asked hopefully, he couldn't wait to phone Ophelia.

"I don't see why not." She smiled at him. "You just have to ask Carmen. I'm sure that your father will be fine with it, but you'd better tell him too, when he gets dressed." Ryan ran upstairs to call his girlfriend.

"They said yes!" She shouted into the phone.

"All right!" He exclaimed, "Now all I have to do is phone Carma, she's in San Francisco right now, so I'll use her cell. I'll phone back when I get an answer, OK? See ya."

"Bye."

He sat on his bed for a moment, feeling the sunshine on his face. This would be an awesome august. He dialed Carmen's number.

* * *

**"Have you ever noticed that if you rearranged the letters in mother in law, they come out to Woman Hitler?"**—_A not-so-deep-thought_.

Bridget went into the electronics store and looked around. It was all so hard to understand. The signs were all in French. _I think I'm going into culture shock_, She thought, trying to read a poster of a poodle sitting beside a turtle.

"Bonjour." A little man said in a monotone voice. He was sitting behind a counter pilled with gadgets.

"Hi, do you speak English?" She smiled pathetically at him.

"Martine! Une anglophone!" The man shouted violently. A young woman with short brown hair came out from the back, she warily looked at her father.

"Hello," she addressed Bridget in heavily accented English. "Could I help you?"

"Yea, I need to buy a new cell-phone. My old one fell into the St. Laurence. It needs to have the same number." She proceeded to buy a new phone, handing the woman her credit card before sitting in a park to activate it.

As soon as she could, she phoned Eric. He didn't pick up, but she wasn't worried. She phoned the shop but again got no answer. Now she knew that something was wrong. Eric always picked up the phone. No matter how busy he was. Most of the time it annoyed her, especially during diner or a movie, but she knew she could always count on it. She then tried to dial Eric's cell number but it was turned off so she decided to give up. Walking through the park, she felt terribly home sick. Perhaps Eric was having coffee with Mz. Santoz, bored out of his mind. Maybe he was surfing with his friends.

Suddenly, her new phone rang.

"Hello?" A mans voice was on the other line, telling her the impossible. She felt the dizzying blood rushing to her head, making her feel faint.

"The Scorpiono Hospital?" She whispered in Spanish. Not waiting for a reply, she hung up the phone and transferred, yet again, her plane tickets. Running back to Le Chevalier, she checked out, collected her things and caught a cab to the airport. She picked up her tickets at customer service and ran on to the plane. Shock waves coursing through her body.

* * *

**If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?** _—Anon._

Lena was sitting in the hospital with Tibby. They were both dressed in normal clothes. Lena was in a white blouse and blue skirt and Tibby in a graphic tee and a pair of cargo jeans. Since Jordan was doing so well, the hospital had allowed her to leave earlier than expected. Now they were waiting as Brian returned from the bathroom. After five minutes, they looked at each other and smiled. Finally, Brian walked in. He was carrying Jory.

"Hey, you. How did you get her?" Tibby kissed her husband and stroked Jordan's hair. Lena looked at them and longed for Paul.

"The nurse passed when I was coming back." He smiled. "Ready to go?" They all walked out of the hospital together, discussing Carmens' speedy departure that mourning. Lena would be on a greyhound bus back to New York in the afternoon right after they ate lunch. As they drove to the restaurant, Lena got to hold Jory.

"Mmmm, I'm hungry. Hospital food is sooo nasty. I can't wait for my grilled vegi sandwich" Tibby licked her lips. Suddenly, her cell-phone rang.

"Hey, Harold, I told you. You've been appointed to full-fledged director. I need a break." She paused. "Ok, but only one more time. And only because it suits my needs. Plus you better not start complaining because I'm going to bring my family. Yea, shut up! Ok, see you Harold, bye." She flipped her cell-phone shut. "Change of plans. We're all going to New York!" Brian laughed.

"I know my boss won't care! I'm on my vacation now. Cool, so New York it is!" Lena smiled. She wouldn't be alone with Carmen; not that it was a problem anymore. Tibbys birth seemed to have cracked her mean personality to bits. Maybe it could be like old times. They could even ask Bridget to join them.

* * *

**Just remember, if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off. – **_God. No, just a magical place where I get my quotes!_

Carmen had just landed in New York when her phone rang.

"Hello?" It was Ryan. He wanted to know if he and his girlfriend (?) Phia could stay with her for the rest of the summer.

First thing was first. "You have a girlfriend? Since when! Oh my god! That's so cool!" She laughed. Carmen had been worried that Ryan would drift away from her now that she was no longer mean to everyone. If he had a girlfriend, maybe he would cheer up too.

"Yea. I'll tell you about her later. So, can we come?"

"Of course! I might be a bit busy, though, I have a weird murder case to work on and a date on Monday."

"That's ok, I've been to N.Y before. I know the subway system. Hey, you sound happy. I like it." She explained that Win would have liked it better if she was more Good Carmen than Bad Carmen, so she had decided to compromise.

"I will still have an attitude, but I'm not going to me a bitch." They laughed, and hung up.

Seconds later, it rang again.

"We're coming over!" Tibby shouted into her ear.

"Who? You, Jordan and Brian? Cool! Wait, Lena too? Sweet! We should call Bee and get her to come too! A sisterhood reunion! And Ryan and his girlfriend Phia are coming as well! My loft is going to be packed!" They spoke for a few minutes until Carmen's taxi arrived for her.

"See you, Tibbs, love you, ok, bye." She climbed into the car, pulling her suitcase in behind her.

* * *

**Have you ever dressed up like a bunny rabbit for no reason? Me neither, but I hear its fun!** _– Me, at a lack of quotes._

Bridget walked into the dimly lit hospital room. Eric lay vulnerably under the beige sheets. His tanned face pale and beads of sweat dotting his forehead. Tears were running violently down her face. She ran to his side and embraced him, feeling his body heat meshing with her own.

"No…" She whispered. He could not die. He was the father of the two babies growing inside of her. She had fallen in love with him that first summer at soccer camp and had never really gotten over it. She loved him now, in his innocent condition, more than ever. She needed him back with her, to raise their children.

"I'm sorry…It's my fault!" She was so immeasurably ashamed of her affair with Billy. It was fate punishing her now; her conscience was going to explode. Tears streamed off her face and onto his. Suddenly she couldn't hold it in anymore; she told him everything, about her fears, about Billy. She explained how sorry she really was and how she just needed him back. She needed him to get mad at her, to make her feel even worse. She told him that he didn't deserve her, but she wanted him anyway.

And then, he opened his eyes, slowly, carefully.

"Its ok, baby. I forgive you. Let's forget this, let's get back to life." He weakly smiled. She started sobbing in joy. He was back. They kissed, and the doctor came in and announced that Eric would be fine. Bridget's cell-phone rang, she was prepared to ignore it.

"Answer it, it could be important." Eric and his need to always answer the phone.

"Nothing is more important than this." She replied, but picked it up nonetheless. "Hello?"

Tibby explained their plans. Bridget told her what had happened.

"Oh my god. Is he ok?" Tibby's voice caught.

"Yes, thankfully. Wait, you know what? I'm going to ask if he wants to go." Eric replied that he would love to go to New York, if the doctor said he was up to it.

"He should be fine. Just no over-exhorting yourself."

Bridget stood there in perfect happiness. Then she realized that Tibby was still on the phone.

"Hey, we'll be there. See you later, girl. Love ya. Bye."

* * *

**Ok, Chees-y cliché City. Especially with Bee. I don't like her or Eric very much but it would not have worked well with the happy ending if I killed him off. One more chapter! Woot! And hey, everyone who is not updating their stories better do it or I will set Mz. Santoz on them. If I write a sequel she will defiantly be in it! Woot! Ok review and I will update sooner! **


	9. Epilogue

**Ok, so here it is… the last update. Its short, but I hope it sums everything up. **

* * *

**Epilogue: **

Ryan could hear Phia's teeth chattering nervously as they got out of her dads' car.

"You're going to be fine." He tried to reassure her.

"Oh yea? Tell that to my stomach! It feels like a heard of butterflies suddenly grew horns and are charging around, stabbing me!" She was unusually pale. Her shirt reflected her mood. It was plum coloured and said _Teenager, will smile for money_ on it. She wore her comfortable jeans. Ryan noticed how Phia was clutching, white knuckled, at her Cary-on bag. An elastic band was looped around her wrist.

"Have you ever flown before?" He asked her. They were in line at the airport to put their suitcases into the luggage compartment.

"Once," She uttered quietly. A pale green color was washing across her face. "We went to Disney World when I was five. I only remember getting really sick and then fainting." She smiled at him apologetically. "I'm afraid of flying, in case you hadn't caught on."

"I hadn't, I swear." He grinned and placed their tagged bags on the conveyor belt.

"Just goes to show how oblivious the X chromosome variety is…" She skipped over to say goodbye to her parents.

"Now remember honey, don't think about anything gruesome and if you need a reality check, just snap yourself with the elastic…" Her father gave her a last-minute prep-talk.

"I know dad. I'll be fine." She hugged them both. "See you!" They waved and went into the line-up to go through the metal detectors.

* * *

It was Tuesday evening. All the girls except one were in Carmens apartment, waiting for Ryan and Phia to arrive. Carmen and Russ were picking them up at the airport. Tibby and Brian were sitting with Jordan, watching a movie. Lena, Paul, Bridget and Eric were playing scrabble and listening to music. Finaly the door opened, revealing a blue hared Ryan and black hared Phia. Three loud gasps were uttered when the sisters saw what Phia was wearing. The pants. The pants that had kept them together for four summers. The magic and love in their teenage lives, standing in the doorway, smiling faintly. Well, the pants weren't smiling, but Phia was. Carmen had told her about the sisterhood on the way home from the airport.

Now everyone ran over to say hello, it was a perfect happiness in all the turmoil in their lives. No, the moment was not perfect, for perfection is unnatural. It was imperfect in every way, and all the more lovable for it. Let's just say that they had an amazing week and leave it at that.

Not long after, Bridget gave birth to two healthy baby girls. She named them Piper and Pearl. Lena, Paul and Carmens son, Seth, was last to pop out, laughing, and they had a huge party to celebrate the new chapter in their lives. As they grew up, the children grew very attached to each other. Even though they lived in different parts of the continent, their parents made sure they visited often.

As for the pants….

Once Phia grew out of them, she gave them back to the sisterhood, who gave them to their children. The kids formed The Fellowship of the Traveling Pants, but that's another story….

* * *

**Ok, sorry it's so short…but I had nothing more to write! I'm probably going to post a sequel, Titled _Flawless Imperfection_, about the twins Pippy and Piper. Look for it late fall/ early winter. Or sooner…but only if I'm REALLY motivated. It's up to you to do that! REVIEW! It will be the last time for this story.**


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